5 Ways With Vanilla Cake Mix (Part 1) – Plum sponge pudding, Banana choc pops, Cute cupcakes

Use your favorite packet mix to create
these fabulous sweet treats!

Plum sponge pudding

Serves 8 –
10 min

Prep 15 min

Cook 30 min

Ingredients

·          
Dark plums, 825g can, drained, ¾ cup syrup
reserved

·          
Custard powder, 2 tablespoons

·          
Butter cake mix, 340g packet

·          
Ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons

·          
Desiccated coconut, 1 cup

·          
Icing sugar, for dusting

·          
Custard or ice-cream, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to
   moderate, 180⁰C. Lightly grease an 18cm x 28cm ceramic baking
   dish.
2. Remove seeds
   from plums and discard. Arrange plums in dish and pour reserved syrup
   over. Sift custard powder over.
3. Sift cake mix
   and cinnamon into a bowl. Prepare cake following packet instructions. Fold
   coconut through. Spoon evenly over fruit.
4. Bake 25 – 30
   minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with custard or ice-cream.

Plum
sponge pudding

Banana choc pops

Makes 28 min

Prep 45 min
(plus freezing)

Cook 50 min

Ingredients

·          
Butter cake mix, 340g packet

·          
Banana, mashed, ½ cup

·          
Dark chocolate, 100g, finely chopped, plus 200g
extra

·          
Vanilla frosting, ¼ cup

·          
Wooden paddle pop sticks, 28

·          
Desiccated coconut, 1 cup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to
   moderate, 180⁰C. Lightly grease and line a 20cm round cake pan
   with baking paper.
2. Prepare cake
   following packet instructions. Add banana and mix well. Spoon into pan.
   Bake 45 – 50 minutes, until cooked when tested. Cool in pan 5 minutes
   before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Trim cake edges.
   Crumble cake into fine crumbs into a bowl. Add chocolate and frosting,
   mixing well. Roll mixture into walnut-sized balls. Arrange on tray and
   freeze 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt
   50g extra chocolate. Dip the tip (about 1cm) of each wooden stick into
   chocolate and insert in a ball. Repeat. Freeze for further 30 minutes.
5. Melt remaining
   extra chocolate and pour into a mug for easy dipping. Dip each pop into
   chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Insert each stick into a piece of
   Styrofoam, or place in a glass. Set aside 10 – 15 minutes, until almost
   set, then dip one side of each pop into coconut. Chill until firm, then
   store in an airtight container in the fridge until required.

Banana
choc pops

Cute cupcakes

Makes 12 min

Prep 25 min

Cook 20 min

Ingredients

·          
Paper patty case, 12

·          
Butter cake mix with icing, 340g packet

·          
Silver cachous, edible icing flowers, to
decorate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to
   moderate, 180⁰C. line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper patty
   cases
2. Prepare cake
   following packet instructions. Spoon into case until two-thirds full.
3. Bake 15 – 20
   minutes, until lightly golden and cooked when tested. Transfer to a wire
   rack to cool completely
4. Prepare icing
   following packet instructions. Make butterfly cakes (see tip) and decorate
   cupcakes with icing, silver cachous and edible icing flowers.

Cute
cupcakes

Top tips

• Cupcakes are
  cooked when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and dry.
• To make
  butterfly cakes, use the tips of a knife to cut a deep circle from the top
  of each cake and reserve. Spoon whipped thickened cream into each recess.
  Cut cake circle in halves and place in cream to resemble wings. Dust with
  icing sugar to serve.